To Find Purpose
by MadamCrepsley
Summary: She gazed lovingly down at her twin boys. She ony wished that they had shared more of her features. There were some similarities, such as their button noses and perhaps their curly hair, but they were their father's children through and through. That same dark auburn hair, the same arched brows, those same sparkling emerald eyes that had haunted her dreams for far too long.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Man with a Past

The man walked swiftly up the winding lane that lead to the towering gates of his ancestral home. The magnificent castle had been the home of hundreds if not thousands of pureblood families over the centuries. But the current owners had the privilege of claiming the house for the longest, having raised seven generations of Lestranges at the Chateau. The man hurried along the walkaway past the open gates to and into the front door without breaking stride. He rudely brushed past the unfortunate house elf in his haste, only pausing to quickly glance to his right at the extensive family tree that graced the entrance of the house. He cursed under his breath as he took in the newest additions to the long and previously untarnished Lestrange Line. He found his parent's names and then his own, along with his older brother. The same older brother, whose hellion of a wife still refused to give him children. So how was it, pray tell, that under his brother's name, two very delicate vines had linked him to two names that were completely unknown to Rabastan. Two children, whose date of birth was clearly stated at, 11:00 p.m. on October 17. That had been almost a month ago, how had his fool brother not noticed something like that?

"Rodolphus! Bloody hell, Rodolphus, answer me bastard!" Rabastan shouted, his voice carrying in the empty house, creating an echo.

"In here Rab," a deep voice called from the parlor. Rabastan quickly made his way towards the voice, to find the man in question sprawled lazily in an ornately decorated chair, with a glass of liquor in his hand. Rabastan was considered extremely tall to most, but not when compared to the towering Rodolphus. His brother stood a good five inches above his own 6'1 frame and his current slouched position didn't make that man seem any less immense than he was. Where Rabastan was tall and lithe, Ruddy has always been pure muscle. Large shoulders, long legs, big hands, everything about the eldest Lestrange screamed mammoth. Were the brothers' appearance did mingle was in their coloring. Both bore the traditionally emerald eyes of the Lestrange family and the long dark auburn hair that they shared with both their late parents, as well as their golden skin tone. Rodolphus turned to his brother with weary eyes, "What's with all the screaming, runt?"

"How can you be so calm? Did you not see the newest additions to our family tree?" said Rabastan throwing his hands up in frustration, he had yet to take a seat, and instead paced in front of his reclining brother.

"So you saw that too, did you? Yeah, I saw it last night after the meeting." He looked to his near empty glass and raised it to his brother, as if in a mock toast, "And I've been here ever since."

"You aren't going to deny it? Is it a mistake? Who's their bloody mother? For god's sake, give me some answers!" Rabastan ended falling into the chair opposite his brother, in a similar fashion as well.

"Calm down, Whelp. You'd think they were yours with the way you're carrying on. I thought I was going to puke if you didn't stop that damned pacing" Rodolphus rose to his feet, moving to refill his now empty glass of brandy. "Are they mine? It's possible. Is it a mistake? Unlikely. Their mother?," he looked down into his glass, "I have a good guess." He said before downing the contents in one gulp.

"Who?" Rabastan asked looking at his brother, who refused to meet his gaze, instead finding interest in the fibers on the rug. "You remember when you went on that little trip to Cairo with Muliciber and Antonin to collect potion ingredients for Severus?" Rodolphus quietly asked refusing still to raise his eyes. "Yeah, the Dark Lord asked it of me and I complied as you well know."

"While you were away," he looked at his brother's confused face, "there was a raid on a muggle home." "Yes…Bella mentioned something about the Order being dealt a blow"

"I guess you could say that" Rodolphus answered quietly, turning away from Rabastan. "We were sent to muggle London, we arrived in a small neighborhood, peaceful, quiet, clean, so very….muggle"

"Well it turns out it was the home of little Miss Hermione Granger" Rodolphus said closing his eyes as he said her name. "We raided a 16 year old muggleborn child's home, a girl whose only protection were her weak muggle parents, who, mind you, had no idea what they were in for."

"They were having dinner, you could hear there laughter when you opened the door" he paused gripping the table he was leaning against with unnecessary force. "Lucius killed her father before he had even risen from the table, his look of surprise still on his face."

"Her mother….gods her mother" he paused again taking a deep breath. "Greyback took her mother" his remorse at these last words was genuine. Rabastan looked away at this; he knew all too well what happened to the poor unfortunates that Greyback took. If you could find a scrap of them left after he had had his way with them, then he hadn't taken his time with them.

"His orders were to keep the girl alive, so we did" he finally turned to his brother "screaming, kicking, biting, crying, I carried her back to the Dark Lord"

"I was under the impression that perhaps we would use her as a bargaining chip in exchange for Potter, or even keep her for the information that she could have provided us" he said this in such a wistful way that Rabastan could tell his brother's mind had ventured back to that night. "Bella, that bitch" Rodolphus cursed with such venom that Rabastan was taken back, "I knew she was sleeping with her precious lord and I dealt with that, but when she persuaded him to make me the one to take the girl in front of the entire brethren….I lost all feeling for that venomous whore." He sat across from his brother once more and met his gaze, "I raped that girl Rabastan, in front of dozens of Death Eaters who cheered me on. Her screams will haunt me until my dying day. Those beautiful golden eyes were filled with tears as I ripped her innocence away from her. All I wanted to do was hold her and say how sorry I was and wipe those tears away as I showed her what it was really like to make love to a man for the first time" his voice cracked with this statement. "After I was done, I left her in that house, with her mother's blood on the walls and her father's body still in the kitchen. I was told to dispose of her…but I couldn't do that to her, not after I had hurt her so much already. I felt more for that small woman than I had ever felt after 18 years of marriage to Bellatrix" he swore under his breath, "And to top it off, I probably forced two children on her that she will hate as much as the man that sired them."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Woman with a Will to Live **

The woman gazed down at the two chubby babies with a small smile on her face, utter adoration clear in her sparkling golden brown eyes. The oldest by 3 minutes, Nicholas James was waving his little arms around wildly, his green eyes sparkling as he gurgled happily to his mother. The other baby, much more moody than his brother, turned in his sleep before opening his eyes, which were identical to his brother's. While Nicholas had only a few little wisps of curling auburn hair on his head, Jackson Aurelius had a full head of curly auburn hair. Both children were simply precious and the apple of their mother's eye. She had been disheartened when she first discovered she was pregnant given the conception of the twins, but they were as much her children as they were his and that gave her the resolve she needed to make her decision. They had been a blessing with helping her get over her depression and finally take a step forward towards recovery. That night still haunted her nightmares on occasion, but not as much as it once had. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she recalled the night she was awoken from the bliss of childhood and thrust into adulthood, a pawn in fate's cruel game.

"_I did not say that I liked Ron! Don't give me that look, Dad…If you like him so much, then you date him!" Hermione said with a giggle as she passed the macaroni to her mother who was giggling as well. _

_Thomas Granger looked affronted at his daughter before replying a high pitched voice, "Maybe I will, Miss Granger!" This had the whole table in full blown laughter, which quickly died when they heard the front door slam. Hermione's eyes widened as she looked to her parents. Her father had just begun to rise, when the killing curse was shouted from behind her at the room's entrance. She was frozen in place as her mother ran to her father and was kicked away and stunned before she could react. Hermione turned around slowly; her wand was in her room, her only form of protection rendered useless. Turning, she was met with the steel gray eyes of Lucius Malfoy, who surged forward to grab a fistful of her hair as she made an attempt towards the door. He tightened his grip on her hair causing her to wince in pain before shoving her into the arms of his taller companion. The man in the mask grabbed her arms gently and held her against his massive chest as Lucius walked towards her mother. He looked down at her with disgust evident on his face as he used one of his black boots to turn her face towards him. "A little too old for my tastes, but perhaps there is still fun to be had for someone. Greyback? Do you want it?" From the living room entrance, one man stepped forward. He was a head taller than Lucius, but not as tall as the one holding her. Both his hair and his beard were a matted mess with grey throughout the varying shades of brown. His eyes were an illuminating yellow that seemed to glow in the poorly lit room. "I'll take the mother, but I'd much rather have the girl" he said sending a smirk in Hermione's direction. She stepped closer to her captor as his grip on her arm tightened, but not to the point of being painful. Lucius looked amused as he answered the werewolf, "Yes, I'm sure you would like that, but orders are orders and ours were that the girl was to be delivered to the Dark Lord unharmed. If I let you have a go at her Fenrir, there's no telling how much of her we'd have left." "No! Please, not my mother! I'll do anything, just please don't hurt her!" Hermione shouted as she tried to pry off the restraining hand on her arm. Fenrir smirked as he hauled her mother onto his shoulder and made his way to the living room. "You've already taken my father from me; let me and my mother go. What could you possibly gain from hurting them? They are only muggle dentists, who never did anything to anyone!" Before she could comprehend what was happening, Lucius had backhanded her so hard that if it had not been for the hands supporting her, she would have surely hit the floor. "Lucius! Calm yourself, we didn't come here to dilly dally. We came here for a purpose," the man holding her said harshly, using a hand to turn her head so that he could see the damage Lucius had done to her face before pulling her behind him. "There will a bruise there by tomorrow and I for one will not be the one to tell the Dark Lord that one of us didn't have enough control to complete the mission exactly as was ordered." "Oh, Rodolphus, how foolish you must be if you think that child doesn't have bigger problems coming up than a simple bruise. That is to say, we will worry about the bruise if she still alive come morning." "So this was Rodolphus Lestrange, husband to that maniac Bellatrix," Hermione thought looking at his Death Eater mask, which he had yet to remove like the rest of group. He didn't seem as horrible as his wife, but there had to be more to what she saw of him if he was one of the Dark Lord's most renowned Death Eaters. With the way his mask turned towards her she could tell he was now looking at her as well. "Please don't do this! My mother is now the only family I have left!" she whispered to him, low enough that Lucius, who had walked a little ways from them and was speaking to the two men still in the other room, could not hear. He looked away quickly and stared hard at the blank white kitchen wall; Hermione only hoped he was contemplating how to help her and not how to kill her. Before she could get a reply Lucius was back in front of them. "Time to go, Rodolphus. The other two will stay here with Greyback, until he is finished with the mother. Do you want me to take the girl?" Lucius said reaching his hand out. "No, I'll take her" Rodolphus said wrapping his arms around her. "Fine" was the reply as Lucius apparated. Rodolphus put his head on top of hers as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Angel." They apparated into a clearing, where she could see Lucius a little ahead of them make his way towards a cluster of trees. They walked a little further until they reached a large circular slab, surrounded by the rest of the cloaked devils. At the top of the slab, on a large throne, sat two people oblivious to the on goings around them. One was obviously Lord Voldemort, whose head was thrown back against the back of his throne; one hand was wrapped in the hair of the one woman who knelt between his spread legs. There was only one woman that she knew of with the wild curly midnight hair. It didn't take a genius to guess what was going on by the noises the two were making. She looked once more to Rodolphus, she couldn't tell his expression with his mask on, but she could tell by his stance that he was upset at the scene. Finally, it was over and Bellatrix rose to sit on one of the arms of the throne that Voldemort lounged in, while wiping her face of the remnants of her lord's pleasure, but it did not wipe away the constant smirk the woman wore. Voldemort quickly covered himself and cast a quick spell to clean up the mess, before he said, "Lucius, Rodolphus, show me what you have brought me." They both walked to stand on the pedestal, Lucius more quickly than Rodolphus, who chose to take his time. Voldemort beckoned for Rodolphus to bring Hermione closer. "Miss Granger, what a pleasure to have you here on such short notice. I'm hope my loyal servants treated you and your family with as much courtesy as your kind deserves." He said this with a smile, as if he didn't already know what had been done to her parents. As if, he hadn't been the one to give the order in the first place. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her break down in front of him, but she couldn't seem to get the words out that she wanted to say. "I…umm….I.." she stuttered, she saw Bellatrix rise to stand in front of her. "What's wrong little muddy? Cat got your tongue?" she said in a voice used for speaking to child. "Leave her be, Bella" Rodolphus growled, the first words he had spoken since they had arrived. A look of surprise came over Bella's face as she looked to her husband. "What is it to you Ruddy? Taken a liking to the little muddy have we? I supposed she is alright looking, but her tainted blood makes her unworthy in my book." Suddenly, a glint came into her eyes as she locked gazes with Hermione who had unconsciously shifted towards Rodolphus. She moved closer until they were face to face. "Are you untouched little muddy? Ever been with a man?" Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what Bella was asking. But her obvious change in facial expression gave her away, "You are aren't you? Aww, poor little muddy was going to die without never knowing the touch of a man. We can't have that can we. One little gift to give you before we send you off to join your dirty parents." Bellatrix remarked in a sing song voice. She turned to the Dark Lord, "My lord, I, your most humble servant ask that I be allowed to decide the fate of our little mudblood." Voldemort looked to Bellatrix with a cool gaze before giving his reply, "Do as you wish, dear one. But make it entertaining for all of us." Bellatrix grinned before walking up to her husband. She moved her hands to remove his mask, but he stopped her with a hand on her wrist. She yanked her arm away roughly, "I give her to you Rodolphus to do as you please before disposing of her. I know I have disappointed you, but let this gift erase our past, so that we may begin anew." "Bella, you know I don't take part in the defiling of women. Let the child go, we have done enough to hurt her. She has seen what we are capable of, let her go. She is hurting, so Potter will as well. That's what you wanted isn't it? That's what you shall have." Bella's angry glare made Rodolphus regret his words. He should have known Bella wouldn't allow a mudblood to go free. "If you don't take her, Lucius may have her." At this Lucius stepped forward, "I would gladly teach the filthy mudblood her pla—." "I'll do it" Rodolphus cut it before Lucius could finish. Lucius's glare and Bella's smirk were enough to unnerve Hermione. They were really going to do this to her. She had no say of what became of her body. No say of what become of her period. "Take her as her better, Rodolphus. You are not her equal, not her lover. She is your toy, your slave as you are her master for the night." Bellatrix shouted as she resumed her place beside the Dark Lord. She felt Rodolphus pick her up and carry her to the edge of the dial, and she complied in a daze. It wasn't until he moved to lay her down that she began to push against his chest, he laid her on the dial and took her wrists in his hands. The Death Eaters were all around them, but none were close enough to hear what was whispered between the two. "Struggling only excites them, screaming makes it more believable. I will be gentle as I can, but I can't make any promises. It will hurt, and I will have to be a little rough to appease them," he whispered. She looked at him with those big golden eyes with such innocence and trusting that his breath caught. "I understand...but I ask that you take off your mask. You don't have to, but I would like to see the face of the man that I'm giving my innocence to." He looked down at her before moving to take off his mask. He turned away to set it down and gazed back at her with the most beautiful emerald eyes that she had ever seen. His face had the high cheekbones of an aristocrat and finely arched eyebrows. He was beautiful. He was by no means pretty, but he reeked of masculinity and was truly the most handsome man she had ever seen. Too bad she couldn't have met him under normal circumstances, and he had been a single man. To have your own wife force you to break your wedding vows, which she had clearly already violated with the Dark Lord. He removed his cloak and moved to place it under on the hard stone. "Lay back" he whispered moving above her, supporting himself on his hands. His body mostly covered her from the view of their audience, of which she was thankful. She gazed into his eyes as he moved his hand to her hip, the feeling of the rough skin of his hand against her smooth skin causing her jump. "It's okay" he whispered against her neck as he began trailing kisses down it, while moving his hand further under her dress. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. It felt as wrong as it felt right, the feel of his gentle ministrations on her thigh, slowly moving towards its intended destination. She gasped as his hand made it to its goal slipping past the small piece of clothing in its way…she moved to rest her hands against his chest and pushed as if in one final gesture to get out of this mess. He didn't budge an inch but instead moved one hand to wipe away the tears that she didn't even notice had let fall and then moving it to wipe her hair from her face. She closed her eyes as she felt his fingers inside of her, stretching her to make room for what was to come. She held her eyes firmly shut as got lost in the feelings he was creating, it was like she was floating. She fought back a moan as he speed up his movements causing her to open her eyes quickly, only to meet his own staring back her. They were clouded over with lust, glistening in the darkness surrounding them. Finally, he removed his fingers and removed her underwear before moving back into place. She heard the sound of his zipper as he pushed down his pants and lined himself up at her entrance. She began to close her eyes again as she felt him pushing in, but his voice stopped her. "Look at me" he whispered, grabbing her chin to turn her towards him. She found herself once again lost in the depths of his eyes. "When I push in, it will be uncomfortable, painful even. Don't hold back; scream out as loud as possible. If you don't then they will give you to Lucius to have his way with you." His eyes softened before he began to push in further, until he reached her maidenhead. Her eyes watered at the pain of having to accommodate his size and widened when he stopped. He bent forward and captured her lips, using her surprise to thrust in all the way, breaking through her barrier. Her scream pierced through the haze that clouded his mind at being in her tight wet heat. He paused giving her time to adjust; her sobbing didn't slow as she gripped his shoulders and pulled him closer to tell him she was ready. The chants and cheers from the crowd had begun, and her screaming continued with his movements. "It still... hurts" she whispered to him under her breath as his thrusts increased. Her voice sounding so very weak and small, "It's just that you are unaccustomed to it. Don't fear having sex because of this. Move on and start over," he whispered, "You will make one lucky man very happy one day, Angel." There it was that nickname again, "I know you are going to end up having to kill me, Mr. Lestrange. As for surviving this…No man would want used goods." "I will make sure you survive this….and you learn to move on because I know you are a fighter. You won't let this end you, move on, finish your education, start a family with a man you love." He whispered fiercely, his voice coming in pants as he finished inside of her, spilling his essence within her. She came with him, falling back on the cloak as she did. He rose, refastening his pants and reaching to pull her dress down. He wrapped her in his cloak and lifted her petite form into his arms. "My lord" he bowed his head to Voldemort as he made a move to return to the clearing to apparate. "Rodolphus" the Dark Lord voice carried to him. Rodolphus stopped but did not turn around. "Don't leave any trace of this…Leave the parents; the muggle authorities will think it was a burglary gone wrong. Only the Order will know different. Get rid of the girl and come back."  
"Yes, my lord" he answered before continue his trek to the clearing. He held her whimpering form closer as he apparated back to her house. He had returned her to her bedroom and even tucked her in. The Order arrived shortly after. There was nothing they could do the damage had already been done. They removed her parents' remains and cleaned up the mess. Only a few members were privy to the events that took place that warm summer night. Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, and Remus Lupin were sworn to secrecy that night, but no one could have ever guessed the consequences that would follow. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Worthy of Love

Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange sat around a well lite fire, each lost in their own thoughts, before the younger brother broke the silence.

"Has Bella Bitch seen the family tree yet?" Rabastan asked, eyes never leaving the flames.

"No, she has been gone about three days on a mission with the Dark Lord. Not that she is here much now a day anyway," Rodolphus muttered taking a swig of his drink.

"What do you mean?" Rabastan responded.

"I haven't touched her in close to a year, I barely talk to her," he paused before continuing, "and I have no desire to ever do so again, least I make myself sick."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, before Rodolphus voiced what had been on his mind for hours, ever since he had first discovered his potential children. "You have to talk to her for me, Rabby," Rodolphus whispered.

Rabastan looked to him, "Talk to Bella?"

"No…I need you to talk to An—Hermione" Rodolphus whispered, hoping his brother hadn't caught his slip up with the nickname he had given her.

Rabastan looked hard at his brother before responding, "I believe it would be better if you spoke to her Ruddy…..they are your children, your part in their creation is what is going to be the problem."

Rabastan watched as his brother withdrew more into himself, "I can't Rabby…..I need you to be the link between us until she can stand to face me. This isn't some broken relationship that just needs some tender, love, and care. This is a team of two trying to build a bridge between two cliffs that are separated by a canyon. I can't have her turning me away before I even get the chance to build the foundation. I want to be a part of these children's lives, I want to be a father, _their father_" he looked to his brother, "I want to be whatever their mother wants in a man."

"You really like this woman don't you? She must be something special" Rabastan said quietly.

Rodolphus looked somewhat embarrassed at this, and thought over the question before answering his brother. "Do I like her? Hell, yes. Do I love her? I don't know what the hell love is," he turned towards the fire once more, "I know that I want to protect her, that seeing her in pain felt like someone had stabbed me with a knife and kept twisting. I feel like she is beyond me, but I want to rise to meet her. That even though we were taught that her kind was beneath us, _I _feel beneath her. I have seen her demonstrate understanding and compassion beyond her years. She could have turned me in, Rabby. She knew my name, saw my face…..She could have aborted our children, "he said softly, "I want to know why would this young woman would keep not one, but two children, that are a physical representation of a night no one would ever want to remember. She could have the peace of mind of having her rapist behind bars in Azakaban, and moved on with her life with a good man," Rodolphus turned back to his brother with a grimace, "You know I have never been a good man, Rabastan. I have been called a hellion, a villain, a murderer, a devil's spawn, and a blackguard. Until recently, I had never had the slur of "rapist" mar my name. I'm not a saint, but I have some since of honor. I had never defiled a woman until last summer….I was faithful to my wife until that night as well. I have done my share of torturing, and killing, but I never enjoyed it like Lucius and Fenrir do. They revel in the screams and the pleas for mercy, they feed off the pain because it makes them feel powerful…. that is something that I have never condoned. I never strove to be a good man, because I thought that all the good in the world was lost…..Hermione Granger is something that is still good in this world, our children, who I have never meet, but I already care for them so much that my heart is near bursting…..they are innocent. I would be a good person for them, a good father. I would be a good man for her, Rabastan. I would renounce the Dark Lord, here and now, if it meant I was worthy of an Angel like her."

"Well, if that's how it's going to be, then I have a plan of my own, but first we need to do a little house cleaning," Rabastan finished with a dark grin to his confused brother.

* * *

_A few days later…_

"Please, Harry. It will only take me an hour to run by the office to see what Kingsley needs me to do. I will be back before you know," Hermione pleaded as she grabbed one of his hands. Harry still had a disapproving look on his face as he glanced down at the two babies in there cribs. "I don't know about this Hermione, you know what happened that one time Remus made me watch Teddy by myself. He still doesn't trust me in a room alone with Teddy anymore."

"Harry, I know that wasn't your fault. Ron's the one that left his broom out in the open like that. He should have known better with a child in the house that it was bound to case trouble" she added, as an afterthought, "besides, you won't be alone with them long. Severus is coming over in about 20 minutes and he will help you. The twins already love him." A dark look came over Harry's face as he heard Snape's name. "If he's so good with them, why ask me? I'm sure "Severus" would be glad to help you." Hermione sighed at Harry's tone, ever since she had discovered she was pregnant, Severus had been the first to offer her a helping hand when the others were trying to grasp why she would keep a death eater's child. He had held her hand through the pregnancy and had even been there during the delivery. She had named Remus as Nicholas's godfather and Severus as Jackson's godfather, which had thoroughly upset both Harry and Ron. Remembering how the boys had only started to come around after the twins had been born, while both Remus and Severus had stood by her through the whole process. Her naming them as the twin's godfathers had not caused problems for Remus, but Severus, who Ron and Harry detested anyway, had taken the blunt of the boys' bitterness. "Harry don't be like that. You have been really busy lately with Dumbledore and Severus doesn't mind watching the boys when he isn't teaching. I can't be picky with help when it's offered, Harry."

"Ok, Mione. Just don't start crying on me, alright. I'll watch Nick and Jacks but don't blame me if you come back and there are bawling their eyes out and I'm strangling Snape," Harry said, hugging Hermione in an attempt to comfort her.

"Thanks, Harry. I just can't afford to lose this job, especially since I know how much grief Kingsley got for hiring me as his secretary," she said giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before moving to give the babies a kiss on their foreheads. "I will be back as soon as I pick up the paperwork I need," she said quickly, before grabbing a handful of floo powder and disappearing through the fireplace with a swift wave and the words "Ministry of Magic"

* * *

"I don't know about this, Rabastan. What if there was something we missed? I want this to work, but we could end up in Azkaban if there was something we missed. Did you double check the dungeons?" Rodolphus had been a nervous wreck ever since they started this whole mess. It was a rather brilliant idea, in Rabastan's opinion at least.

"Calm down, Ruddy. I tripled checked the dungeons and the cellar and the solar and the master bedroom. There is nothing here that the little witch can find that will link us in any way to the Dark Lord," he paused giving his brother a pointed look, "unless of course, you decide to ruin the plan and the witch sees you or if either of us is foolish enough to let her see our Dark Marks. I am warning you, Ruddy. Stay away from the girl until I have had time to work with her. I also invited mother to come stay at the manor for a few days, maybe another woman in the house will put Hermione at ease."

"Mother? How did you convince her to leave France? She hasn't set foot in this house since father died," Rodolphus said surprised.

Rabastan smiled before replying, "I may have mentioned something about Bella being taken out of the picture, you know she never approved of father making that betrothal with the Black Family," he paused, thinking, "there was something else, what was it? Oh, that was what sealed the deal. I believe I mentioned the prospect of her finally getting grandchildren…she got packing as soon as I said grandsons."

"Damn you, Rabby. I though we agreed not to tell her just yet," Rodolphus huffed from his seat.

"There are some things that must be done dear brother to ensure success, take one for the team and stop your pouting. It really is unbecoming of a man your age. Everything is coming along nicely, now it's just up to my old friend Kingsley to convince our dear Hermione to come a knocking."

* * *

"Hermione, you know I wouldn't ask this of you if I had anyone else on call, especially since you have the twins now. But Remus is busy with the Nott residence, Severus just cleared Malfoy Manor and Tonks and Moody are doing background checks on Ministry officials. Now, I have been waiting for the Lestranges to agree to let me survey their estate for dark objects for almost four years now and they have refused every time. I was beginning to think that I would have to order them as Minister to give their permission, but yesterday afternoon I got a visit from an old friend saying they consent," Kingsley rested his hand on Hermione's clasped ones in her lap, she had been staring at them the entire meeting, "Hermione, please."

"Kingsley…I can't, you wouldn't understand. Who would watch the boys? I just can't."

"Hermione, it is either you or Dolores Umbridge. I can't trust that bitch to do a job this important. Hell, she is probably working for the Dark Lord. We just can't prove it yet. Rabastan and his mother will be the only two residents at home for at least two weeks; the survey should only take you that long, at max."

"Rabastan? I thought Rodolphus Lestrange was the Master of Lestrange Estate," Hermione said, softly before adding, "and his wife, Bellatrix."

"It is true that as oldest brother, Rodolphus is Lord of the Manor. However, Rabastan has informed me that he is in charge while his brother and his wife are away on "business." You may not know this Hermione, but I went to school with Rabastan, we were in the same year at Hogwarts. He was a good friend for many years until life took us on different paths. I wouldn't send you there if I didn't trust that Rabastan will not cause you any harm," Kingsley finished, he still had that pleading look on his face.

"And you promise that neither Rodolphus nor Bellatrix will be there? You swear," Hermione had finally lifted her eyes to meet Kingsley's.

"I swear to you, Hermione Granger, that no harm will come to you while you are in the company of the Lestranges."


End file.
